Unbeaten Adeshina completes NCAA sweep

Nigerian record holder Temitope Adeshina has cemented her legacy in collegiate athletics by completing an undefeated season and clinching her first NCAA outdoor high jump title on Sunday. Competing at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Adeshina cleared 1.96 meters on her initial attempt, securing her third NCAA championship overall.

Her previous national titles include the indoor high jump championships in 2025 and 2026. This remarkable achievement places Adeshina in elite company at Texas Tech University. She is now the second athlete in the university's history to win at least three national titles, following Sally Kipyego. Furthermore, she is the first female Red Raider to win the outdoor women's high jump since Zarriea Willis's victory in 2019.

Across both men's and women's programs, Texas Tech athletes have now accumulated nine national titles in the high jump event. Adeshina herself accounts for three of these, with Trey Culver and JaCorian Duffield each winning two, and Zarriea Willis also securing two titles. The NCAA Championships marked the culmination of the Red Raiders' outdoor season, which also saw them secure two Big 12 team titles and earn seven first-team All-America honors.

The 27-year-old athlete's season was nothing short of spectacular, remaining unbeaten in all competitions she entered. Earlier in 2026, she received the International Student-Athlete Excellence Award in the women's category at the Texas Tech Red & Black Gala. Following a breakthrough year in 2024, where she set new Nigerian national records, Adeshina claimed her first NCAA title in 2025. She also represented Nigeria at the Paris 2024 Olympics, though she did not medal. Adeshina is only the second Nigerian woman to compete in the Olympic high jump, after Doreen Amata.